Mattress Company Wants You To Forget Tasteless 9/11 Ad

Pro Tip: Using the anniversary of 9/11 to promote sales is never a good idea.

A mattress store in San Antonio, Texas, has drawn widespread criticism for promoting a “Twin Towers sale” just days before the 15-year anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, which claimed the lives of 2,996 people and injured thousands more.

In a commercial posted to Miracle Mattress’ Facebook page Sept. 8, store manager Cherise Bonanno asks, “What better way to remember 9/11 than the Twin Towers sale?” as two employees stand in front of a pair of mattress towers with an American flag in the background.

At the end of the video, the employees topple backwards into the towers, knocking them over as Bonanno shrieks, before turning to the camera and proclaiming: “We will never forget.”

The post immediately took fire on social media, and the video was taken down that same day. The store issued a statement on its Facebook page, which has since been edited. Both can be seen below.

The first apology didn’t go over very well.

And the store’s owner, Mike Bonanno, issued a separate apology later that day.

“I say this unequivocally, with sincere regret: the video is tasteless and an affront to the men and women who lost their lives on 9/11,” reads the statement.

According to the Dallas News in response to criticism over the ad, the company has announced that it will donate 30% of its sales this weekend to a 9/11 charity.

One thing is for certain: This is one ad we’d all like to forget.

James Clark is a staff writer for Task & Purpose. He is a former Marine combat correspondent and a veteran of the War in Afghanistan. You can reach him via email at [email protected]
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